Slack-adjuster.



W. H. SAUVAGE.

SLACK ADJUSTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN,25.1916.

L fiw a Patented May 29, 191.7.

ran snares PATENT onnron WI; H. SAUVAGE, 0F FLUSHING, NEW YORK, ASSIG'NOR T0 GOULD COUPLER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SLACK-ADJUSTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1191?.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. SAUvAon, citizen of the United States, and resident of Flushing, Long Island, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slack-Adjusters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to slack adjusters for the brake rigging of railway cars and in its more intense aspect to improvements in the foundation brake rigging as will be hereinafter more fully described.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple and practical arrangement of the foundation brake rigging equipped with automatic slack adjusters associated either with the truck brake rigging or the power cylinder adapted to insure uniform. piston travel. A further object is to provide mechanism of the above general character in which the relative positioning and range of movement of the elements constituting the brake rigging will be substantially uniform at all times. A further object is to provide a mechanism of the above mentioned character having few parts which will be inexpensive to manufacture and install.

Uther objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and in part indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of this invention.

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of parts and in the unique relations of the members and in the relative proportioning and disposition thereof, all as more completely outlined herein.

To enable others skilled in the art so fully to comprehend the underlying features thereof that they may embody the'same by the numerous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by this invention, drawings depicting a preferred form have been annexed as a part of this disclosure,

and in such drawings, like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout all the views, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing such parts of a brake rlggmg as are necessar to understand the present invention; i igs. 2 and 3 are detail views partly in section of adjustable hangers.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and more particularl to Fig. 1, 5 denotes a power cylmder pre erably secured to the under side of the car body or framework in the usual manner. This cylinder is provided with a piston 6 pivotally connected at the point 7 with a primary live lever 8 of the brake rigging. This live lever is connected at one end 10 with a pull rod 11 leadmg to hand brake mechanism 12 at the end of the car, while its opposite end 13 is pivotally connected with a pull rod 14 connected at the point 15 with the upper end of truck live lever 16.

On the same truck is also mounted dead lever 18 from adjustable stationary hanger 20 having its lower end 21 connected with the corresponding end of the live lever by means of a telescopic push rod 22-23.

This telescopic push rod constitutes an au tomatic slack adjuster which may be of any desired type such for example as described in pending application Serial Number 7 4,17 6, filed January 25, 1916, of mine, the main purpose beingto take up, register and permanently hold any i excess travel that may occur due to wear of the parts and brake shoes. These live levers are associated with brake beams 24 in the present form carrying brake shoes coacting with the peripheries of the wheels as is well known to those familiar with the art.

The truck at the opposite end is rovided A with mechanism of the same genera character, that is a push rod 14: is connected at the point 25 with one end of the lever 26, the opposite end of which is pivotally secured to a stationary point 27 Intermediate the prlmary levers 26 and 8 is a tension member 28 for the purpose of transmitting power from one to the other. These levers are all so positioned, proportioned and arranged as to properly transmit the power from the power cylinder in a substantially equal amount to the various brake shoes.

in order to insure uniform piston travel at all times and the maintaining of substan-- tially uniform relation and range of movement of the several levers with respect to the power cylinder, there is secured to the U-shaped and provided with adjustablemember 28 to move the lever 26 also to the right a proportional amount. These movements react through the pull rods 14 and associated live and dead truck levers to apply the brakes in a substantially uniform manner to the peripheries of the several wheels.

As the Wear takes place upon the brake shoes, the relative position of the truck levers will change somewhat and thls variation would otherwise be transmitted through the intervening connections to the. brake cylinder were it not for the application of the supportin brackets and adjustable stops which maintain these. parts in proper relative position. Therefore by placing the brackets 30 and 31 in substantially the man-' ner shown, the levers 8 and 26 always have a uniform range of movement and the rest of the mechanism will automatically accommodate itself tosuch range.

It is thus seen that the present invention provides a simple, practical, reliable and eflicient mechanism primarily adapted to maintain uniform position of the various parts of the foundation brake rigging, and is believed to accomplish, among others, all of the objects and advantages herein set forth.

Without further.analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatusof the character described, in combination, a power cylinder, a lever associated therewith having operative connections with the truck brake rigging, means adapted to support said lever from the under side of the car body to insure uniform range of movement and a variable stop associated with said means.

2. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a power cylinder, levers associated therewith having operative connections with the truck brake riggings,

brackets secured to the under side of; the car body adapted to support said levers and limit their range of movement in both directions and clamps on said brackets movable to adjusted position to vary the range of movement of said levers.

3. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a power cylinder, live and dead levers associated therewith having "operative connections with the truck brake brackets secured in relatively fixed position adapted to support said levers and limit their range of movement, and means whereby the range of movement of the levers may be further adjusted and limited, said means comprising a clamp secured to said bracket and adapted to engage the associated lever at one of its limits of movement.

5. In apparatus ofthe character described, in combination, a power cylinder, live and dead levers associated therewith, truck brake riggings operatively connected with the primary live and deadlevers, automatic slack adjusters associated with the truck brake rigging, and .means adapted to limit the movement of the levers and maintain them in a predetermined relation'with respect to the power cylinder.

6. In apparatus of the character described,

in combination, a power cylinder, primary levers associated therewith, truck brake riggings operatively connected with the pri-.

levers associated therewith, truck brake r1g-.

gings operatively connected with the primary levers, automatic slack adjusters associated with the truck brake rigging, and means adapted to limit the movement of the pri mary levers, said means comprising supports engaging said levers intermediate their ends and friction clamping members adapted to a grip said supports and coact with the associated levers at one end of their range of movement. r

8. In an apparatus of the character described, in combinatiomja power cylinder, primary levers associated therewith, brake rigging having automatic slack adjusters whereby said automatic slack adjusters are associated therewith and connected with said brought into operation and cause a more primary levers, and supporting members uniform action and wear of the brakes. W carrying adjustable stops for said primary Signed at New York in the county of New levers mounted on the car body adapted to York and State of New York this-16th day adjustably limit the movement of said levers of December A. D. 1915. within their mammum range of travel W H. SAUVAGE. 

